Tractor



May 15, 1923.

H. J. STEGEMAN v TRACTOR,

` 5 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Nov. 8'. 1918 NN R,

mwa

Ewlalm L ..,..,H

@Num

Il, l/fk May 15, 1 923.

H. J. STEGEMAN TRACTOR Fiied Nov. s, 1918 I5 Sheets-Sheet 5 IN1/Euro1? ,eff/we YJ rfGf/ww v A TTX Patented May l5, 3,@23.'

HENRY J. STEGEMAN, 0F FAIRFIELD, CONNECTICUT, ASSIQNOB; T0 THE HL' MMW- 01E STK'I'ON, CALIFORNIA, CORPOTION 0F @AIAS- TBAGTQE.

Application led November 8, 1918. Serial tto. 261,615.

To all whom t may concern.' Y

Be it known that l, HENRY J. SrncnMAN, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Fairfield, in the county of Fairfield and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tractors, of which the following is a specication.

My invention relates to new and useful improvements in tractors such as are used for drawing loads over the road and particularly for drawing agricultural instruments in the field. v

The invention further refers to what is commonly known as a track-laying 'trac' tor, having four wheels and a sprocket chain connection, that travels around the pair of wheels upon each side to form a travelin tread upon which the wheels are supporte More particularly the present invention is concerned with equalizing means, such as, for example, is shown in U. S. Patent No. 1,344,860, dated June 22nd, 1920, to William Turnbull. l ln said Turnbull patent the track-laying units arel pivoted at one end to the main frame for roclng movement in a vertical plane and an equalizer bar connects the opposite ends of the track laying units together, and,l in turn, is pivotally connected centrally to the main frame, so that theV weight of the main frame is equally distributed on opposite track-laying units, and each unit is free to move vertically to conform to unevenness in the ground without unduly disturbing the position of the main frame. For convenience this is termed a three-point suspension, since the main frame issupported at two points in the rear and at one point in the front.

ln the present invention l provide novel suspension means having four points of support, two of which are floating, the vtwo floating points being connected together by novel equalizing means, whereby to give greater stability to the main frame and rigidity to the track-laying `units, and to provide for a more even distribution of the wei ht of the main frame on the opposite trac-laying units when the latter are rocked relatively. The present invention isl of special importance in connection with ex'- tremely large tractors, such as are intended for carrying heavy guns.

' With these and other objects in view the invention resides and consists in the construction and novel combination and an' imilar characters of reference denote or corresponding parts throughout the serf-v eral figures of theaccompanying drawings forming a part or this specidcation, and.

upon which,

Fig. 1 shows a side elevation of a tracir laying tormot tractor embodying my im proveniente, part of the chain being broken away to better show my improvements, and

Fig. 2 shows a sectional plan view of: the chassis of the tractor shown in Fig. 1 and fitted with my improved equalizing device.

Fig. 3 shows a diagram in perspective of the equalizing means embodied in the ont tractor.

Referring in detail to the characters o fi reference marked upon the drawings, t5 indicates the frame' of the tractor, c the enclosing the motor, 7 the radiator and 8 a gasolene tank that is mounted upon braclrets 9 supported upon the above mentioned frame 5. 10 represents a steering wheel mounted u on the post ll which is journailed in t e frame 5 and bracket 12. 13

indicates a seat which is locatedy adjacent tothe steering wheel and designed to be occupied by the operator while driving the tractor. 14 represents the motor shaft and 15 the crank 'for starting the motor. The parts thus far described may be of the usual. or any preferred construction and do not form any essential features of the invention since the same are clearly applicable to vehicles of various constructions, and as before stated the invention relates purelyr to an equalizing device which is located be tween the frame and front `wheels ci the machine and prevents the tilting of the niachine sidewise or 'raisin the driving wheels and chain entirely 0H t e ground.

lt will be noted that the drivingwheels 16 and 17 arelocated'under the rear side portions of the machine and are arranged 1n alignment one with the other being supported more particularly upon spindles that are scoured to a portion in of the rear arde.

Owing to the line on which the section of this view, Fig. 2 is taken, only parts of the'axle are shown and to these parts are attached a yoke 19 for supporting the rear part of the equalizing device as will later be more fully described.

The spindles of the front and rear wheels upon each side are connected by two small channel beams 20 and 21, the first one of which is positioned horizontally upon the outside of the. wheels and below their spindles and the other upon the inner side of the wheels. A hanger 22 is secured to the top side of the rear portion of these beams to support the same from the spindles of the rear axle while somewhat similar hangers 23 serve to Support the forward end of the beams from the forward spindles. The

driving Wheels 16 and 17 are-in the form of' sprocket wheels and serve to engage the sprocket chain 24 which may be of the usual or any preferred construction as employed oncaterpillar tractor chains, and as shown is made up of a series of links and avidey plates 25 mounted upon the outer side thereof and which form a movable tread upon which the'wheels run.

The driving wheels as will be noted are more or less rigidly connected with the frame, and the front Wheels' as before stated are provided with an indirect self-adjusting line of connections whereby the front wheel upon the one side is lowered with relation to theframe in substantially the same proportion that the front wheel on the other y side is raised when it runs over a stone -or obstruction.

It Will be noted that I have provided a depending bracket 26 upon each side of the forward end portion of the frame 5 to support a cross shaft 27 which extends from vone side to the other. Two special bell crank levers 28 and 29 are pivotally mounted upon this shaft and are alike in construction and are connected to work independently and loosely upon the shaft and serve in part as a yieldable and equalizing connection between the front wheel and the frame. The lower ends of these levers are each provided with a stud 30 which in turn is connected by a movable link 3l with one side 'and flexibility to the connection.

of the inner channel beams 2l, end portions of these bell crank levers are provided with a pivotal stud to which the forward ends of the connecting rods 32 are pivotally attached. rlhe inner ends of these rods are slidably mounted in a yoke 33 and are each provided with a spring 34 that is mounted within and between the yoke and the head of the rod, so as to give elasticity The yokes 33 are pivotally connected to the opposite outer ends oi a cross beam 35, the center .part of which is pivotally connected to the yoke 19 by means of a link 36.

inches.

The upper Maaate It will thus be seen that the two side sections of this special construction of equalizing device are respectively positioned within the two sides of the. machine and are substantially alike in design and are connected in the rear part of the machine, to the yoke 35 which is hung in the center to a rigid part of the frame of the machine.

From the foregoing construction it should be understood that if the forward front wheel on the near side of the machine is raised by reason of its running upon a stone as is commonly the case when the machine is used in the field, the said wheel would be raised to the height of the stone and thus ized, as set forth herein, the action of theV bell crank levers will be such as to equally distribute the load to the track laying units, regardless of relative changes in the elevation of said units. This action is illustrated in Fig. 3 where it will be seen that if the track laying unit R falls sixy inches the connected bell cranky lever 28 takes up half this movement by rocking and the other half is taken up by a change in the position of its fulcrum 27, which, in this case, means that the main frame will be lowered three Each rockin movement of three inches on the outer bll crank` lever 28 will through the equalizer barl 35 cause the opposite bell crank lever 29 to move acor responding distance in the opposite direc.. tion, and, inasmuch as the track laying unit L can not rise or fall the result is thatl the fulcrum of the bell crank' lever 29 must shift, thus lowering the main frame three inches at this point. The main frame therefore remains on an even keel and the weight thereof is equally distributed on the 'two track laying units regardless of relative changes 1n the vertical positions of the latter. rllhus there is produced a four-point suspension for the main frame, two of 'said points being Hoating with equalizing connections between the Heatingpoints.

Afurther advantage over a three-point suspension is found in the fact that the movement of the bell crank levers is in the same lane as the rocking movement of the track laying units, and the said bell crank levers, forming as they do a direct connection between the track laying units and the main frame, will serve tc keep the track Maaate n laying units in alignment. With a centrally plvoted weight-carrying equalizing bar, such as used in the three-point suspension referred to, the rocking movement of the equalizer bar is in a plane transverse to the rocking movement of the track laying units and the tendency is to throw the track laying units out of alignment. Itlthus becomes possible to construct a tractor of this type wherein the rigidity and stability of the front ends of the track laying units are comparable to those of the rear ends which are directly pivoted to the main frame.

Various changes in the construction and arrangement of the several parts herein shown and described may be'employedl without departing from the spirit of myk invention as disclosed in the appended claims.

In slome types of tractors the power plant and transmlssion housing in and of themselves constitute the main frame. Hence, in the following claims where the term main frame is used, itis intended to apply. to the suspended weight regardless of its form.

Having thus described my invention what I claim and desire to obtain by vLetters Patent, is-

l. In a vehicle of the class described, the combination with a main frame, of a separatetruck at each side including a driving and driven wheel, said truck being pivotally connected to the main frame, bell crank levers pivotally connected to the forward end of the main frame and having one end pivotally connected to a link which in turn is connected to the forward end of the truck frame and equalizing means connecting the other ends of the said links to the main frame.

.2. In a vehicle of the class described, the combination with a main frame, of a pair of truck frames, one arranged at each side of the vehicle, a driving wheel mounted on and supporting the rear part of the truck frame, a driven wheel mounted on the forward end portion of each vtruck frame, a cross yoke pivotally connected to a fixed part of the rear portion of the main frame, a pair of bell crank levers pivotally connected to the forward part of the main frame, rods connecting the ends of the yoke with one of the ends of the bell crank levers respectively and a link connecting the other end of each bell crank with the forward end of each truck frame.

3. In a vehicle 'of the class described, the combination'with a main frame, of a pair of driving wheels supporting a part of the frame, a pair of driven wheels supporting another part of the frame, traveling chain treads connecting the. two wheels on each side, a separate truck frame connecting the wheels upon each side and hung in part from the spindle of its rear wheel on that side, a pair of brackets secured to the main frame,

a bell crank lever pivotally sup orted upon each bracket, means for pivota ly connecting one end of the respective bell cranks with lthe forward end portion of the respective truck frames, a yoke the central portion of which is pivotally'connected to a rigid portion of the rear part of the main frame, and rods pivotally connected to the outer end portions of said yoke and to theupper ends of the bell crank leversrespectively.

4. A track laying tractor comprising a main frame, a power axle journaled thereon, self-laying track units pivoted concentrically of the power axle, one on each side of the main frame, and a two-point suspension equalizing means at transversely separated points adapted to transmit vertical motion from one self-laying track unit to the other.

5. Ina vehicle of the class described, the combination with a main frame, of a driving and driven wheel upon each side, a separate truck frame connecting the two wheels upon each side, the forward end of the frame being indirectly supported upon one of the forward driven wheels through a bell crank lever pivotally hung from the forward part of the main viframe', land having one end pivotally connected to a link which in turn is pivotally connected to the forward end of the truck frame and equalizing means connecting the other ends of the said links to the main frame.

6. An equalizing suspension for a vehicle, comprising a mainl frame, a truck frame at each side of the vehicle, a forward and a. rear wheel'mounted therein, a chain tread connecting the two wheels, one end of the truck frame supporting the rear end of the main frame and the forward end through bell crank levers vpivotally connected to the main frame and having one end flexibly and pivotally connected to the forward end of the truck frame, and equalizing means connecting the opposite ends of the bell crank levers to the main frame.

7. In a track laying tractor, the combination of a main frame, two track frames located at opposite sides thereof and pivoted thereto, a suspension for the main frame remote'from said pivotal connection and including bell crank levers, an equalizer bar pivoted to the main frame, and means connectin said levers with said ktrack frames and with the o posite ends of said equalizer bar, respective y.

8. A track laying tractor comprising a main frame, power means thereon, pivoted self-laying track units journaled to the main frame and receiving traction motion from the power means thereon, and a two-point support equalizing means at transversely sepa rated points adapted to transmit vertical motion from one self-laying track unit to the otherl 9. In a track laying tractor, the combination of a main frame, two track frames located at opposite sides thereof and pivoted thereto, and a sus nsion for the main frame remote from sai pivotal connection, comprising two rockers each having two arms,

means connecting an arm of each rocker to the associated track frame, an equalizer bar pivoted to the main frame, and means which are connected respectively to the other arms of said rockers and with opposite ends of said equalizer ,barl

10. In a vehicle, a main frame, a chain track truck mechanism at each side thereof and a load-supporting connection for the main frame comprising a rock Varm carried at each side 'of the main frame and pivotally connected to the adjacent truck mechanism and connecting means between opposite rock arms whereby anvupward movement of one of the truck' mechanisms will impart a downward movement to the opposite trunk mechanlsm.

11. In a tractor, a main frame, a self-laying track truck mechanism at each side thereof pivotally connected thereto for rocking movement in a vertical plane, an equal- -izer bar operatively connected with each truck mechanism and pivotallymounted on the main frame on a vertical pivot for rocking movement in a horizontal plane;-

' 12. In a tractor, a main frame, a self- ,laying track truck mechanism at each side thereof pivotally connected thereto for rocking movement in a vertical plane, an equalizer bar operativelv connected with each truck mechanism and pivotally mounted on the main frame on a vertical pivot, and a rock arm included in the connection between the equalizer bar andfeach truck mechanism.

13. In a tractor construction having separate roller truck frames,` and a main frame pivotedat one end thereof, an equalizer mechanism interposed between the forward ends of the rollerA frames andthe main frame comprising a com ensatingbar centrally pivoted to the main frame, pressure arms carried by the main frame and operatively associated with the opposite roller frames, and connections between saidy reesure arms and the equalizer bar where y a swingmg movement of one arm will pro duce a reverse swinging movement ofthe other.

.14. In a tractor, a main frame, a selflaying track unit at each side thereof connected to the main frame for rocking movement in a vertical plane and connections between each unit and the adjacent side of the main frame for transmitting a portion of the weight of the main frame to the said track laying units and means for equalizing the weight transmitted through said connections regardlessv of the relative vertical positions of the latter.

15. In a tractor, a main frame, a selflaying track unit at each side thereof connected to the main frame for rocking movement in 'a vertical plane, and equalizi'ng means connecting sald track units to the main frame at two transversely separated points and adapted to transmit vertical motion from one track unit to the other.

16. In a tractor, a main frame, a selflaying track unit at each side thereof connected to the main frame for rocking movement in a vertical plane, a rocking member connecting each track unit to the main frame and having movement in a vertical plane parallel with the longitudinal axis of -the tractor and an equalizing member connecting the opposite rocking members together.

17. In a tractor of the self-laying track type,a main frame, a self-laying track unit at each side thereof, a four-point suspension means for the main frame, two of said points, one cooperating with each track unit, being floating, and means for equalizing the weight between said floating oints at all relative inclinations of the trac units.

18: In a tractor, a main frame, a tracklaying unit at each side thereof, pivotally connected to the main frame fqr rocking movement in a vertical plane and equalizing connections between each of said unit-sand the main frame at the end opposite the pivot oints, the connections between each track aying unit and the main frame beingmovable in the same plane as the rocking move ment of the track laying unit and serving to preserve alignment of the latter.

Sined at Bridgeport, in the county of Fair eld and State' of Connecticut, this `6th day of November, AnD. 1918.

HENRY J. STEGEMAN.

itnesses:

C. M. NEWMAN,

NM. Ammo. 

